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Switching Employers Inside Taiwan on a Work Permit: The New Employer Files, and Your Start Date Follows the Permit

7 min read

Fictional scene

Nothing in Taiwan's Employment Service Act asks your current employer to approve a move to another company. What the statute watches is something else: whose application your work permit rests on, and the date a new one issues.

A permit that rests on an employer's application

Unless the Act provides otherwise, a foreigner may work in Taiwan only with a permit obtained through an employer's application (Employment Service Act Article 43). A change of employer while that permit is valid needs a fresh application. Under Article 53(1), the new employer files for a new permit and attaches the worker's separation document.

For the new employer, this is no formality. Hiring a foreigner who has no permit breaches Article 57(1); the fine runs from NT$150,000 to NT$750,000, and a second violation within five years can be prosecuted (Article 63). The company has its own reason to wait.

The permit date is the start date

So do you. Work done before the permit issues breaches Article 43 on your side as well, with a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 (Article 68(1)). Article 68(3) goes further: a foreigner who breaches Article 43 is to be ordered to leave and may not work in Taiwan again. The provision makes no allowance for a start that was only a few days early.

Proof of service record

Paperwork is where an unhappy employer can slow things down, and the Labor Standards Act speaks to it. Under Article 19, upon termination of a labor contract, "neither an employer nor the employer's agent shall reject a request from the worker for proof of service record." A refusal can be fined NT$20,000 to NT$300,000 (Article 79(3)). Whether that certificate also counts as the separation document the new employer must attach is left to the ministry's filing requirements; the statutes do not say.

How much notice you owe before leaving depends on your length of service, covered in Resigning From a Taiwan Job: Notice for an Indefinite-Term Contract.

Your ARC between jobs

Once the employment ends, the old employer has three days to notify the local labor authority, the immigration authority and the police in writing (Article 56(1)). The end of employment is itself a ground for revoking the work permit (Article 73, item 3). Article 74(1) then provides that, unless the Act says otherwise, the person is to be ordered to leave and may not work in Taiwan again. None of these articles sets a grace period.

Immigration status is handled by the National Immigration Agency. When the reason for residence disappears, the agency revokes the residence permit and cancels the Alien Resident Certificate (Immigration Act Article 31(4)). It may let the person stay on in limited cases, for example while a labor-dispute lawsuit against a Taiwan employer is pending or an occupational injury is still being treated. After the move, a change of workplace has to be registered within 30 days (Article 31(6)).

Gold Card holders

The National Immigration Agency's Gold Card FAQ answers the main question directly: the card acts as an individual work permit, so a new employer does not apply for a hiring permit. That follows from Article 9 of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals, which combines the work permit, resident visa, ARC and re-entry permit in one card. More on the card is in The Taiwan Employment Gold Card, Filed by the Applicant.

Factory, fishing and care workers

Items 8 to 11 of Article 46(1) cover marine fishing, domestic and care work, and ministry-designated work such as manufacturing and construction. Workers in items 1 to 7, which include professionals, cannot move into them when they change employers or jobs (Article 53(3)). Those already in them generally may not change employers during the permit term (Article 53(4)) unless the Ministry of Labor approves one of four situations in Article 59(1): the employer or the person cared for dies or emigrates; the vessel is seized, sinks or is under repair and can no longer operate; the employer closes or shuts down, or the contract is terminated because wages were not paid as agreed; or another reason arises for which the worker is not responsible. The unpaid-wage route is set out in the FAQ above.

After approval, the public employment service has 60 days for the transfer, extendable once by 60 days in special circumstances. A worker whose permit was revoked after physical abuse by the employer, its staff or agent, a relative, or the person cared for is not held to that single extension (Transfer Procedure Regulations Article 11(1)-(2)). A separate end-of-term transfer applies when, two to four months before the permit expires, the worker and the original employer agree not to renew (Article 23).

What a Taiwan lawyer can take on

Before you resign, a lawyer in Taiwan can map the dates: your notice period, your last day, the new employer's filing and the residence registration. If the old employer stalls, the lawyer can make the written demand for proof of service record; if wages or severance are in dispute, the lawyer can bring labor mediation or a lawsuit, or prepare an Article 59 application for a migrant worker. Hovering International Law Firm's Attorney Wei Tseng (曾雋崴), an English-speaking lawyer in Taipei, takes consultations at wei@hoveringlaw.com.tw. The offices are at 7F-2, No. 35, Sec. 1, Chengde Rd., Datong Dist., Taipei City 103 (103 臺北市大同區承德路一段35號7樓之2) and 6F-1, No. 19, Guanqian Rd., North Dist., Taichung City 40453 (40453 臺中市北區館前路19號6樓之1). For a factory or care worker owed wages, Article 59(1)(3) speaks of a contract that has already been terminated, so the termination date is the one to document.

Official sources

Checked: October 22, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my current employer have to sign off before I take another job in Taiwan?
No. Employment Service Act Article 53(1) has the new employer apply for the permit and attach your separation document, and it says nothing about the old employer's consent. When the contract ends, the old employer also may not refuse a request for proof of service record (Labor Standards Act Article 19).
What does my new employer risk if I start before the permit arrives?
Hiring a foreigner without a permit breaches Article 57(1). The fine is NT$150,000 to NT$750,000, and a repeat within five years can be prosecuted (Article 63). You face a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000, and Article 68(3) adds an order to leave and a bar on working in Taiwan again (Article 68).
I work at a factory in Taiwan and my wages were not paid. Can I change employers?
A worker may end the contract without notice when the employer does not pay wages as the contract requires (Labor Standards Act Article 14(1)(5)). Once the contract has been ended that way, Article 59(1)(3) allows a change of employer with Ministry of Labor approval. The worker can apply directly with proof of the reason and a document showing the worker's own consent to the transfer (Transfer Procedure Regulations Article 2).

This article provides general information and is not legal advice on any individual matter.

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